French Bread

I will never buy a loaf of french bread again.  This stuff is 100 times better than anything you'll get from the store.  The longer that you let it rise, the more airy it will be, but I've let it rise as little as 30 minutes and it was still great.  This also makes a great pizza crust.  One recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas. This is originally from Deals to Meals.


2 1/2 c. warm water2 Tbsp yeast3 Tbsp sugar2 Tbsp. white vinegar

Add the above ingredients together and let sit until bubbly (about 3-5 minutes). Then add:
1 Tbsp. salt1/3 c. oil (I use Canola)
6-7 c. flour (or a little more if it's too soft), one cup at a time--add enough until the dough is soft, but firm enough to mold into dough loaves

Knead for 2-5 minutes and then put in the oven with a small pot of boiling water. The water will keep the dough moist. Watch the dough and punch it down when it gets to the top of the mixing bowl. Do this every time it gets to the top of the bowl, as long as you have time to babysit it (2-5 times). Put the dough on a greased countertop and divide into 2 to 4 sections, depending on how large of loaves you want. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the bottom of the sheet. Roll the dough balls into rectangle/long French bread shapes. Slash tops of bread diagonally 3-5 times and cover with a beaten egg. Let rise 30 minutes (or until doubled) on the counter.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.


With the leftovers, if you have any, make an open faced hot hoagie or orange juice french toast. (Instead of mixing milk with the eggs, mix OJ)

French Baguette

This one is from the Food Nanny and I love it. It's super easy and even Eden can make it.  I've used it to make pizza crust and either way its great.

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 T. active dry yeast, (2 packets)

2 tsp sugar

3 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp salt

melted butter

In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup of the warm water, the yeast and 1 tsp of the sugar.  Stir to combine and let mixture stand for about 5 minutes or until foamy.

In a large mixing bowl blend the flour, salt, the remaining teaspoon of sugar and the yeast mixture.

Gradually add remaining water and mix until the dough forms a smooth ball that is not too sticky to handle (if it is too sticky add a little more flour).

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead briefly until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cut the dough in half and shape the halves into baguettes.

Grease a baguette pan and place the loaves in the pan.

Score the loaves down the middle, cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a shallow pan of water in the bottom of the oven to create steam.

Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes. If desired brush the tops with melted butter halfway through the baking.

*For a softer crust, brush with butter when they have finished baking.

Basic Biscuits

We all love biscuits.  Especially because they are so quick to make.  Because I am lazy, I don't make lovely rolled and cut biscuits. I make drop biscuits.  They may not look quite as pretty, but they taste great at really, take like 20 minutes, start to finish. That is my kind of recipe. 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• 1/2 cup butter
• 
  
• 1 cup milk
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• 
  
• In a large mixing bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. 
• 
  
• Grate butter into mixture and stir well. 
• 
  
• 
  
• Pour milk into flour mixture while stirring with a fork. Mix in milk 
• until dough is soft, moist and pulls away from the side of the bowl.
• 
  
• 
  
• Drop biscuits on ungreased baking sheets and bake in preheated 
• oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Super Awesome Breadsticks

I had these little babies at a shower and fell immediately in love. I went looking for a recipe when I got home and found this one.  These bread sticks are AMAZING. Everyone in my house loves them and requests them on a regular basis.  For the bread  sticks, if you are like me and forgot to take the rolls out of the freezer to thaw and rise, you can use this roll recipe.  Just shape the rolls into bread sticks and then follow the bread stick instructions. They taste just as lovely.

22 Rhodes rolls, thawed (this will fill a jellyroll pan. Use about 12-15 for a 9x13)
1 stick of butter
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. melted butter
3 tbsp. McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning
1/8 c. feta cheese
Parmesan to taste

Melt stick of butter and pour in jellyroll pan.  Cover with 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese.  Shape rolls into bread sticks and place on top of Parmesan.  Allow to rise. (Anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours).  Brush remaining 1/4 c. butter over the top of the bread sticks. Sprinkle salad supreme, feta and Parmesan over the top.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Then, welcome to heaven!

Rosemary Flatbread

So, I have been looking for a recipe to equal Trio's Rosemary Flatbread. Sadly, this was not it.  This was, however, pretty good. It is more of a breadstick, but the flavor is really good and this would be great with some olive oil and balsamic or some feta on top. When I made this I didn't have any cornbread on hand, so I just sprayed a bowl for the dough and rather then parchment paper, I sprayed the pan as well. 

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl combine the olive oil, rosemary, garlic and yeast. Add the water to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour and salt. Mix and knead by hand until you have a smooth ball of dough. Spread the cornmeal on a flat surface. Place the dough on the cornmeal and cover with a warm, damp dish towel. Allow the dough to rise until double in size, for about 50 minutes. With a rolling pin, flatten the dough into a round and cut it into 6 equal wedges. Flatten each wedge with your fingers, pounding it out very thin. Spread on the baking sheets and bake until golden brown, for about 10 minutes. Brush each piece of flatbread with remaining extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt

Baguette

I found this recipe at The Sister's Cafe, and we LOVE it.  It is quick and easy and it tastes wonderful with a bowl of soup or pasta.  

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 Tbs. (2 packages) dry yeast
2 tsp. sugar
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt

In a small bowl mix the warm water with the yeast and sugar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes - foam should form on the top.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt. Gradually add the yeast mixture. Mix until the dough becomes a smooth ball and knead for 5 minutes.

Cut in half and then shape into 2 baguettes. To make them smooth and pretty, roll each half of dough into rectangle and roll up lengthwise. Pinch the edges to seal and place on lightly greased cookie sheet (or silpat) with seam down. Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With a very sharp knife (I like to use a serrated blade) gently make a slash down the length of each baguette. This will give it that authentic look. Pour water in a cookie sheet and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Half way through, brush the bread with melted butter. 

30 Minute Rolls

I realized recently that I never posted this recipe. It is from Real Mom Kitchen, and I use it all the time.  I am the queen of deciding last minute that the meal I am making needs rolls or breadsticks to go with it.  Most roll recipes take 2 or 3 hours. This takes 30 minutes. Perfect. You can use it for a lot of different things, too. It makes great sweet rolls, breadsticks and pizza crust.


There are two recipes below. The first makes a dozen rolls, breadsticks or one pizza crust.  The second makes A LOT.  3 dozen rolls,  about a hundred sweet rolls, and 39 billion bread sticks.   Not really.  Just wanted to make sure you know that 3 dozen is a lot. 


1 1/8 cups plus 2 tsp. warm water
1/3 cup oil
2 T yeast
1/4 cup sugar or honey
½ tsp. Salt
1 eggs
3 ½ cups flour

Mix 1st 4 ingredients and let rest for 15 minutes. Add salt and eggs – gradually add flour. Shape into dinner rolls, or use in your favorite recipe that calls for dough. After shaped, let rest for 10 minutes. For rolls, Bake 10 minutes @400 degrees ‘till golden brown.

30-Minute Rolls (3 dozen version)

3 ½ cup warm water
1 cup oil
6 T yeast
¾ cup sugar or honey
1 ½ tsp. Salt
3 eggs
10 ½ cups flour

Mix 1st 4 ingredients and let rest for 15 minutes. Add salt and eggs – gradually add flour. Shape into dinner rolls, or use in your favorite recipe that calls for dough. After shaped, let rest for 10 minutes. For rolls, Bake 10 minutes @400 degrees till golden brown.

Wheat Bread ala Rachel

I know. It's been a while. But I thought that I would get this up while I was thinking about it. This is a great bread recipe.  I made it once a week for a few months, but the holidays got in the way and I took a little break.  But now, we're back.  This recipe makes 6 loaves, so I generally freeze one or two because lack of preservatives means mold more quickly.  This makes great toast and even better FRENCH TOAST.  YUM!  I read a great tip the other day too: slice it before you freeze it and then take a slice or two out as you need it. (PS. If you have a bosch, use it for this.)

Not Quite Whole Wheat Bread

6 c. hot water
1 1/2 Tbsp. salt
1/2 c. honey (or 1/3 c. agave syrup)
1/2 c. coconut oil (really, any oil would work, but I like the flavor the coconut oil gives it)
2 eggs
1/4 c. flaxseed, ground
3 tbsp. yeast
10 c. whole wheat flour
4 c. white flour

In mixer add hot water (not boiling, just as hot as you can get from the tap). Add salt, sugar, oil and 4 c. flour.  Mix. Add yeast and remaining flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.  Mix for 6 minutes (if using your bosch use the dough hook for the last part.)  Remove from mixing bowl and form into loaves. Let rise. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

(If you don't like that much wheat, you can use all white if you want.)

Naan Bread

After being introduced to the awesomeness that is naan bread by Mark and Sara, I had to find a recipe for it.  You can cook it on a grill and it work fine, but I found that it cooked faster on a George Foreman grill.  My kids preferred it plain, to the garlic butter version.  I personally thought that the garlic made it wonderful. 

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Mix butter and garlic powder.  Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Macaroni Grill Bread

I love Macaroni Grill.  Love it. And one of my favorite things is the bread. It really is the best part about going there. So when I found this recipe I had to try it. And what do you know?  It's perfect.  I followed the directions exactly and it was delicious.  It doesn't last long around our house.  The recipe is from The Sisters Cafe. 

Bread from Macaroni Grill(This is a recipe intended to approximate that awesome chewy bread that they bring out at the Macaroni Grill. The kind you dip into the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and cracked garlic.)

1 Tbsp. Dry Yeast

1 Tbsp. Sugar 1 cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees)

2 ½ cups white flour, divided

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. rosemary, chopped, (I used about a tablespoon of dried rosemary and it worked great.)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Coarsely ground salt

Put the yeast, water and sugar into a blender. Mix it until it is frothy.Turn the oven onto 200°. (You just need to warm it up; you’re not baking yet.)

To the mixing bowl of yeast mixture, add two cups of the flour, salt, and half of your chopped rosemary. Keep the other half cup of flour close at hand. Knead the dough for a few minutes. Add the rest of the flour as needed to get the dough to the right consistency (soft and stretchy without being overly sticky).Turn the oven off

Lift the dough out of the mixing bowl. Add the olive oil to a bowl and swirl it around. Roll the dough in the olive oil so it is well coated and let it sit in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and place it in the oven (the oven should be off by now, if you missed that step). Leave the door cracked so it isn’t too hot in there.Let the dough rise for about an hour. It should be approximately doubled in size. Punch the dough down and knead it again. Divide it into two equal sized lumps and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.( I just made one big loaf--but I am thinking it would have been easier to cut--not smash so much if the loaf was smaller--so I think I will follow these directions next time)

Prepare your baking pan. I use a ceramic stone, but a cookie sheet will work. If the surface is not naturally non-stick, spray it with the cooking spray, or use parchment paper. Shape the dough into two oval-shaped loaves and arrange on the pan. Melt the butter or margarine. Use a brush to paint the surface of the loaves with butter. Use all of the butter. The loaves will be quite saturated when you’re done. Take the rest of the chopped rosemary and sprinkle it over the loaves. Pat it down gently to set it into the dough. Return the loaves to the oven. Don’t turn it on yet. Let the dough rise again, for about 45 minutes. Remove the loaves and preheat the oven to 450°. Sprinkle a little bit of coarse(kosher salt is perfect) salt over the loaves. Return the dough to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light brown.Makes two loaves. Best enjoyed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic.

Homemade Biscuit Mix

10 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. baking powder
1/4 c. sugar
2 c. shortening

In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and 4 tsp. Salt. With pastry blender, cut shortening in till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store in covered airtight container up to 6 weeks at room temp.  To use, spoon mix lightly into measuring cup; level off with a straight edge. (For longer storage, place in sealed freezer container, store in freezer up to 6 months. To use, allow mix to come to room temp.)

Biscuits: Place 2 c. Mix in a bowl; make a well in center. Add 1/2 c. milk. Stir with fork till dough follows fork around bowl. On lightly floured surface, knead dough 10 to 12 strokes. Roll or pat to 1/2 in. thickness. Cut dough with floured 2 1/2 in biscuit cutter. Bake on baking sheet at 450 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 10.

Muffins: Combine 3 cups Mix and 3 tbsp sugar. Mix 1 beaten egg and 1 cup milk. Add all at once to dry ingredients. Stir till moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes 12.

Pancakes: Place 2 c. mix in a bowl.  Add 2 beaten eggs and 1 c. milk all at once, stirring until slightly lumpy. Pour on greased griddle. Cook until golden brown.

Low Fat Chocolate Muffins

I found this recipe on a lovely site called I Love Muffins.  Which has become my new favorite recipe site.   Because, really, I love muffins.  Okay. This is not my favorite muffin recipe, but if you are needing some chocolate but are counting calories, this should do it.   

ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vanilla lowfat yogurt
2/3 cup nonfat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for garnish (optional)

method

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line 12 - 14 muffin cups with paper liners.

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Stir in the yogurt, milk and vanilla, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool slightly in pan on wire rack. Remove from pans. Sprinkle powdered sugar over tops of muffins, if desired. Serve warm. Store, covered, at room temperature or freeze in airtight container for longer storage. Makes 14 muffins.

FYI:  106 calories each, 0.5 g fat

Low Fat Orange Yogurt Muffins

ingredients

11/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup white sugar (or sugar substitute)
2 tbsp canola oil
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tsp ) vanilla extract
1 tsp freshly grated orange peel

method

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place paper baking cups in muffin pan and coat with
vegetable cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt, set aside.

Beat eggs and sugar at high speed with an electric mixer for 5 minutes. Add oil, yogurt, vanilla, and orange peel; beat at medium speed until blended, about 1 minute.

Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and beat at low speed until blended. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pans; filling 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire rack.

FYI: 121 calories, 3.6 g fat

Apple Bread

Okay, I haven't made this with chopped apples, because the texture of apples in the bread kind of grosses me out. So, I shred the apples with a cheese grater. That way, the flavor is still there and wonderful.  But, there are no little chunky surprises!  This one, you can eat for dessert too. It is pretty yummy with a cream cheese glaze on top. 




3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup oil
2 apples, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda


Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients until well blended. Pour batter into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for about 1 hour.

Parmesan Toasted Baguette

Diagonally cut baguette in 1/2 inch slices. Lightly brush with olive oil. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat, for 2 minutes. Turn slices; sprinkel shredded Parmesan and crushed dried basil.  Broil 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly toasted.

No knead foccacia tiles

4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
Olive oil

Toppings such as toasted pumpkin seeds, oil packed dried tomatoes, pitted olives, thinly sliced limes, or thinly sliced roma tomatos.  Seasonings such as smoked paprika, ground cumin, oregano or sea salt.

In large bowl combine 3 cups of the flour, the yeast and salt. Add 1 2/3 c. warm water. Stir until all is moistened. The mixture will be a soft sticky dough. Cover and let stand at room temp 12 to 24 hours.

Line a 15x10x1 baking pan with parchment paper. Brush parchment paper with olive oil. With a fork, stir remaining 1 cup of flour into dough.  Turn dough out into prepared pan. using well oiled hands or a rubber spatula, gently press dough into pan (dough will be sticky).  Cover; let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until puffy.

Preheat oven to 400. Using a sharp, floured knife, score dough into 6 portions. Gently press desired toppings into surface of dough.  Brush lightly with oil. Sprinkle with desired seasonings.  To make tiles, score it with a sharp floured knife or pizza cutter to make 6 tiles.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden.  Transfer to wire rack.  Cut into 6 tiles.  Server warm.

Soup Sticks

1 1/4 c. warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
3 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. olive oil
1 egg
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. chili powder (opt)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinamon
1 recipe Honey butter

In mixing bowl combine warm water and yeast. Stir to dissolve. Add 1 cup of the all purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, olive oil, egg, sugar, chili powder, salt, and cinamon. Beat with electric mixer on low 1 minute.

Stir in remaining flour to make soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl (dough will be sticky). Coat 2 quart contaniner with nostick cooking spray . Place dough in container. Cover; refrigerate over night.

When ready to use, punch dough down. Turn out onto floured sheet of parchment paper. Pat or rulll dough in to 15x12 in. rectangel. Transfer parchment with dough to large baking sheet.

Using floured pizza cutter or knife, cut dough width-wise into 20 strips about 3/4 in wide. Dip cutter in flour as necessary to prevent sicking. Cover; let rise 1 hour or until doubled.  Brush with olive oil.

:Preheat oven to 375, Bake 20 minutes until golden. Slide soup sticks onto cutting board, cool slightly. Cut apart. Serve with Honey Butter.

Almond Poppyseed mufffins

Rachel  Ward

I always double this recipe, We love these muffins.

1 3/4 flour
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
4 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond extract (do NOT use imitation. They will NOT turn out.)
2 Tbsp. sliced almonds (opt. I never put them in. . .)

Prepare 12 muffin cups with spray or liners. In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, poppy seeds and salt. Set aside. In a separate medium blowl, cream the butter with the sugar and almond extract. Add the eggs and beat until well blended.  Add butter and egg mixture to flout mixture. Add milk and stir until just blended. Pour batter into muffin tins.  Sprinkle each muffin with almond slices, if desired.  Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Pizza dough, Breadsticks

Breadstick Recipe (base of other recipes)

1 pkg active dry yeast
2 T honey
1 1/2 C warm water
1/3 malted milk or powdered milk
1 t salt
4 C flour
---any italian seasonings like Pesto, basil or oregano--

Dissolve the honey and yeast in the warm water and let sit till it foams (5 minutes or so). Add malted milk, salt and flour one cup at a time. Knead on a floured surface. Put back in bowl coated with oil and place in slightly warm oven for 15 minutes or more if you have time. Roll into breadsticks and let raise again for 15 minutes. Put in oven at 400 a for 15 minutes or until slightly brown on top. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan and garlic salt. Enjoy!

Pizza

Make breadstick dough and do first raising. Roll out into circle on a greased or cornmealed pizza pan and add toppings. Roll up edges and place in oven for 15-20 minutes, until dough is golden brown and cheese is melted. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan and garlic salt. Enjoy!


Strombolli

Make breadstick dough and do first raising. Roll out into a long rectangle. Brush with a wiped egg. Place cheese down the middle and other toppings (cut up ham, turkey, pastrami, or cooked chicken, olives, tomatoes etc). Fold over ends and seal top and bottom flaps. Brush seam with egg. Flip over and place on a greased cookie sheet. Brush with egg. Place in oven for 15 minutes, until dough is golden brown. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan and garlic salt. Enjoy!

Poppy Seed Bread

Poppy Seed Bread
Lindsay Walden
3 cups flour, sifted
2 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 1/8 cups vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons poppy seeds
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
1 ½ teaspoons butter flavoring

Glaze:
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup orange juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon butter flavoring

Grease and lightly flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix all bread ingredients together, then beat for 2 minutes. Pour into pans and bake for 1 hour. Mix glaze ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over hot bread in pans. Let cool before removing from pans.